Case Study | Glass bottle production

Secure deliveries

Several million bottles leave the factory of a French glass bottle manufacturer every year for customers all over the world. Thousands of pallets are dispatched every day. In order to handle all incoming and outgoing shipments safely and punctually, highly automated and, above all, reliable logistics are required. Confronted with this task, KATHREIN partner TAG Product begins its quality assessment as early as the production stage. The aim is to prevent pallets from being dispatched at the slightest error on the production line. This is to ensure that no faulty goods leave the warehouse. With the focus on the production line, the aim is also to automate and optimize logistical processes.

Eliminate sources of error - track palletsn

In order to implement an end-to-end RFID-based Track&Trace solution, industrial robots have already been installed on the production line, which encode the bottle pallets with transponders. The pallet transponder is printed and described on site and contains the SSCC coded in accordance with the GS1 standard. This means that each consignment can be clearly identified and tracked during the intralogistics process. The provision of the goods at the exact gate where the designated truck will pick them up is fully automated and error-free. Forklift trucks that transport the pallets to the outgoing goods area are equipped with an RFID reading system that ensures that the pallets on the forks are continuously recorded in real time - right through to loading onto the truck. The forklift drivers are continuously informed about the status of their delivery, simplifying and optimizing the loading process at the same time. As a result, the RFID system integrator TAG Product achieved a perfect match between reported production and dispatch.

The new processes: Faster, more transparent, higher quality

The consistently designed process also maps the automatic and very precise recording of information in the ERP system. Since the RFID-based Track&Trace solution for the pallets went live, there have been no incorrect bookings or quality defects. The management of the glass bottle manufacturer is delighted with the result and positive key figures:

▪ Accelerated loading process, up to 300%
▪ No customer complaints thanks to zero-defect shipping
▪ 90% Match between reported production and shipment

KATHREIN reader RRU 4500 on forklift truck

The use of different forklift trucks, some of which can transport up to six pallets at once, posed a challenge in terms of the project specifications. Ultimately, all pallets had to be read without gaps and, above all, without so-called cross-reads (incorrect reads, e.g. due to reflections or unintentional errors). These false reads should not falsify the status in the ERP. So how could a constant and uninterrupted reading process be guaranteed? The French team at TAG Product also turned to KATHREIN Solutions with this specification. This technical challenge is not uncommon in practice, because wherever many reading processes have to take place in close proximity in a confined space, the reader must be able to recognize and capture each individual transponder precisely. KATHREIN recommended the KATHREIN RRU 4500 reader series to its partner to ensure reliable pallet detection without cross reads. However, the forklift solution also presented further challenges during the course of the project: mounting the RFID readers on the forks of the forklifts, for example. The manufacturer KATHREIN and system integrator TAG Product worked together as a team to install and fine-tune the readers. The latter scored points with its customer by developing the specific firmware that runs on the Linux operating system of the readers in order to establish a real-time dialog with the ERP. A successfully completed challenge that both partners will certainly be toasting with a glass of good French wine. Perhaps the bottle of wine will come from the customer's production facility.

"Our customer can now say with certainty at any time that the reported production status matches the dispatch. This transparency would not exist without RFID."
- Christophe Coquart, Sales & Marketing Director, TAG Products

"Over the past few years, a close relationship has formed between the two companies. The TAG Product team enjoys working with KATHREIN products, especially because of the flexible platform and the good integration possibilities into existing systems"
- Lucas Couderc, Sales & Partner Manager, KATHREIN Solutions GmbH

 

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Case Study | Glass bottle production